Valve keeper tool



July 12, 1960 Filed May 14, 1958 wvmwss first keeper to 1101 d s emjO My invention relatesfio tools andmor'e particularly to ar n J y 2 11 9 in my claim, and illustrated the accompanying draw 'ings, in which:

'Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my device in its opened position; V p 7 Fig; 2 is a perspective view of my device in its closed 'fposition and shows the tool holding the valve keepers in engagement with a valve stem. a

Fig. 3 is a partialsectional view taken along the longitudinal axis of my device when my device is in the po sition shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 also shows the details of-thevalve structure upon which the valve keepers are a tool used in the mounting of valves in internal com- .bv e g n 'Some internal combustion enginesQdo not have over- ,head valve systems. Many times,v the valves' are located in the lower portion of the motor block and'are to me utilize a conventional valve mechanism whicli'i has ia' ea naPQ iQ J ais lm 'andT spring m n Joli the fst to assist in the operationfofithe valve; rheaboye i ntim d pr ng' e e er l y,he 'inilc p s- -s1on between themotorgblook fand a cup element on the inclined at various anglesJMost ofthese engines known -ment withithe valve stem.

being mounted; and

Fig. 4 is a partial plan view of the forward end of my device. as it moves the valve keepers into engage- I have used the numeral 10 to designate the block of an internal combustion engine with a valve-receiving well opening 1-2. The bottom of well 12 has a round hole opening 14' capable of receiving the vertical stem 16 of valve 18. .The lower end of valve stem 16 has two paralleLhorizontal grooves 20 and 22. Valvetkeepers 24 arid 26 each have interior beads 28 and 30,which"are' adapted tojenter'into the groves20 and 22, respectively,

of valve stem 16 when the keepers embrace *the stem;

It will be noted that the o utside surfaces of the two keepers 24 and 26 form a conical surface whichitap'ers valve'stemL' 'Thee'up element onthe'valv'e' stem is gen- ,er y ec red 194 va v r tfim. bY;... -wo semi-c c ,valve-keepers gThesekeepers'genjrbr e'jvalve stem and fit into groovesinfjt-he'stem to stand, nthej'path 'of the on asthe'spring attemptsm' "keeper .When the valves ated'jon an "inacessi- Lble -partjo f the motorrthef handlingjof these valvelkeep- ,ers becomes very tedious. My.invention directly'relates to a tool which overcomes the ditficultyiin handlingthese 'valve keepers. v

upwardly anci inwarjdly, A cup inernber'32 vwithio uter "flange34hasga circular center hole 35 "about which in- Heretofore, thesevalvei keepers ihavebeen installed by hand. The small'si'zeof the keepers combined with the lack. of operating space invite dropping of the keepers.

Furthermore, the twokeppers must both be'installed to effectively hold the valve' cup and the manual installation T of the keepers thereforereqnires that o'ne keeperbeiman- Ra ly h ld: in place. .whilelhe,.Qtherikeper is fbein gim .i ial sl-i Space r quirementsmake' this almost impossi- =ble and many times grease vor.... t-h e like is placed on the.

" in place until the other keeper iis ihstalledzi I Therefore, the principal object of my invention is to provide a valve keeper tool that will permit absolute control over the valve keepers at all times during the valve installation operation.

' 'iteriorcone-shaped portion 36 extends; 'CupmemberiSZ 'is adapted toreceivej'v'alve stem 16 through center hole 35 and cone portion'36is adapted to embrace the outer surfaces of valve keepers 24 and26. A spring, 38 ex tends aroiind vajlvegstem '16 and has its upper'and lower 'ends in engagement with block 10 and the flange 34 on cupmember 32, respectively. Spring 38,ordinarily forces cup member 32 into engagement with valve keep- "ers V24 and'26. Spring 38, isshown to be slightly com pressed in Fig. 3 and this can be accomplished by clamp- 40 fing a, valve lifter tool on the ,top of block 10 and the not been shown. The above. described structure is typical of manylinternal combustion engines anddoes not comprisetapart of my invention.

bottom oflcup member 32. ,This ,valve lifter tool has 1 My tool is comprised of two-handles 40 and 42 which are snbstantiallyidentical and difier only enough to'forr'n 1 fa' symmetrical appearance when placed opposite each when Il1erear'efids 'of iha'ndle's 40 and 4z ar culvd outwardly from each other to form gripping areas 44 A further object of my invention is to provide a valve keeper tool that can simultaneously place the valve keep- 1 ers in contact with the valvestem.

A still further object of my invention is to provide 7 s a valve keeper tool that can be easily operated and which requires little manual exertion. V

A still further object of my. invention is to provide .a valve keeper tool that can hold and retain the valve keepers while the tool is being moved into operating position.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a valve keeper tool that is economical of manufacture,

durable in use and refined in appearance.- These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

and 46, respectively. 'The forward ends of gripping areas 44 andj46 terminate in straight portions 48 and 50, respectively, Portions 48 and 50 are bent slightly 'downwardly at 52 (see Fig. 3) and the forward ends of handles 40 and 42 terminate in arcuate portions 54 and 56, respectively. The'arcuate portions 54 and 56 each have a flange 58 on their lower edges. Flange58 is of substantial uniform width and coincides with the shape of the arcuate portions 54- and 56. I prefer to have the arcuate portions 54 and 56 along with flanges 58 mag netized. I i

Bars 60 and 62 extend laterally inwardly from the straight portionsi48 and 50, respectively, of handle mem-' bers 40 and 42. These ears 60 and 62'are adapted'to overlap and center holes 64in the ears are permitted to register. I The "cars are then. pivotally connectedby a rivet 66 which extends in a vertical position through the holes 64.

My invention consists in the construction, mange-q ments, and combination, of thevarious parts of the de-' vice, whereby the objects contemplated are attainedas hereinafter more fully set forth,- specifically pointedout AT lug 68 appears-on the inward face of each handle 40 and 42'rearwar'dly of rivet 66. A spring 70, which isnormally in its expanded condition, embraces lugs 68' p and normally forces the gripping areas 44 and 46 apart, 7 'andforces thearcuate portions 54 and 56 together. It

should be noted that the size and shape of arcuate portions 54 and 56 define less than a perfect circle when forced together. Furthermore, the inner surface as of arcuate portions 54 and are tapered upwardly and inwardly to'coincide with the outer surfaces ofvalve'keepers 24 and 26. I

A bearing member '72 can be welded to the lower end'of rivet 66 with its longitudinal axis extending latcured to the ends of crossbar 78. As shown in Fig. 1,

portions 80 and 82 are adapted to engage handles 40 and 42, respectively, at times to hold spring 70 in compression and to hold arcuate portions 54 and 56 in spaced apart relation.

The normal operation of my device is as follows: When it is desired to place the valve keepers 24 and 26 on valve stem 16, a valve lifter (not shown) is utilized to hold spring 38 and cup member 32 in the position shown in Fig. 3. This valve lifter must be used no matter how the valve keepers are to be installed. The han- Zdles 40 and 42 of my device are moved inwardly to compress spring 70 and bracket '74 automatically pivots downwardly so that its downwardly extending portions 80 and82 engage the outside edges of the respective handle members so that this position of the handle members can be maintained. As indicated above, the compression of spring 70 forces the arcuate portions 54 and 56 into spaced apart relation. The keeper 24 is then placed Within the arcuate portion 54 to rest on flange 58 and keeper 26 is similarly placed in arcuate portion 56. Since keepers 24 and 26 are always of metal construction, the magnetism of the arcuate portions will 1 hold the keepers therein.

The tool is then moved so that the lower end of valve stem 16 appears between the arcuate portions 54 and 56. The arm 75 on bracket 74 is then moved manually upwardly to disengage portions 80 and 82 from the handle members. The spring 70 then expands-and forces the keeper-carrying arcuate portions 54 and 56 to close on valve stem 16 as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

' The valve lifter can then be operated to lower cup 32 downwardly onto the tool and keepers as shown by the arrows in Fig. 3. Since the handles 40 and 42 are slightly bent at 52, it is possible for the tool to extend 4 slightly upwardly into cup member 32 without disaligning the keepers with valve stem16. If the beads 28 and 30 in keepers 24 and 26 have not yet engaged the grooves 20 and 2.2, respectively, of stem 16, the downward movement of cup 32 will slide the tool and keepers downwardly so that this engagement can be effected. It should be noted that the sliding of the tool does not affect its grip on the valve keepers because of the tapered surface on the inside of the tools arcuate portions 54 and 56. When the beads of the keepers are in engagement with the grooves of the valve stem, the downward movement of the keepers ceases. However, the continued downward movement of the cup member 32 progressively brings the upper portion of keepers 24 and 26 into engagement with the tapered interior portion 36 of the cup, and shears the tool from its grip on the keepers. Thus, the arcuate portions 54 and 56 progressively yield their control over the keepers 24 and 26 to the interior portion 36 of cup member 32. The full engagement of the cup member 32 with the keepers 24 and 26 will terminate the downward movement of the cup member and the valve will then be installed.

From the foregoing, it is seen that my invention will accomplish at least all of its stated objectives Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my valve keeper toolwithoutdeparting from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my inten'sion to cover by my claim, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

In a valve keeper tool, a pair of levers in substantial parallelism, handles and jaws on'opposite ends of said levers, apivoted'connection between the leversso that the jaws may be spread upon a manual squeezing of the handles, a spring connecting the handles and biasing the handles apart, a bracket pivotally secured to said pivotal connection between the levers and extending toward said spring, and means on said bracket to selectively hold said handles, in a position wherein the spring is under compression and the jaws are spread apart.

References Cited in'the file of {h UNITED STATES PATENTSY 

